Virtual universes or virtual worlds are computer-based simulated environments intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars, which are personas or representations of the users of the virtual universes and generally take the form of two-dimensional or three-dimensional human or fantastical representations of a person's self. These types of virtual universes are now most common in massive multiplayer online games, such as Second Life which is a trademark of Linden Lab in the United States, other countries or both. Avatars in these types of virtual universes, which can number well over a million, have a wide range of business and social experiences.
As more and more avatars populate these virtual universes it becomes difficult for the servers that are responsible for managing the universes to perform at a satisfactory level. In particular, a server that is responsible for managing a particular region within a virtual universe will have a difficult time performing when there is a large quantity of avatars congregating in one area. For example, if there are 20 avatars trying to attend a virtual conference in a meeting center, then the server that manages this scene will have a difficult time trying to keep up with all of the interactions that will likely happen. In particular, the server has to determine information such as avatar information (e.g., the points that make up the avatar), location information (e.g., position where the meeting hall is within virtual universe, where the avatars are within the virtual region, etc.), scene information (e.g., data that makes up the scene) and send this information to a virtual universe client that resides in a computer that connects to the virtual universe through a communication network. The virtual universe client receives this information and renders all of this information on the computer so that the user can view and interact within the virtual universe. The more avatars that congregate in one area such as the 20 avatars attending the virtual conference, the more it will stress the server that manages that virtual region as well as the virtual universe client.
When the server and client are stressed, performance of the virtual universe is significantly degraded. Examples of degraded performance that result from having a large amount of avatars within a certain region of the virtual universe will include slow movements of avatars as they navigate the virtual universe, interactions with other avatars, and rendering of information on the virtual universe client. The more avatars that congregate in a given region will only further degrade performance of the virtual universe. As result, residents must restrict their numbers when congregating together in a virtual world in order to avoid performance degradation.